Ramadoss opposes privatising Metro Rail

PMK founder S Ramadoss has opposed the reported attempt by Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) to outsource its operations, claiming it was against the welfare of labourers and over 5,000 of them would lose their jobs.

In a statement, Ramadoss said the proposed move was “against the interest of workers.” As of now, around 3,000 people are employed at project sites, which may increase to 5,000 in the coming years.

He said except for a few hundred, the rest are contract workers who are being employed at low wage, with no additional benefits. They could not hire workers at lower wages than this, he said.

He also dismissed the claim that the move was aimed at minimising operational costs and claimed it was not possible. While there were over 3,000 labourers working with CMRL, the numbers would go up to 5,000 when the entire network of metro operations becomes functional.

While most of the labourers were already employed on contract-basis, it was not possible to hire anyone below their wages and thus cannot minimise costs incurred, he explained.